United States Warns Citizens To Leave Burundi As Death Toll In Barracks Attacks Rises To 87

United States Warns Citizens To Leave Burundi
Burundian soldiers prepare to deploy to Somalia in 2006. On Dec. 13, 2015, the United States warned its citizens to leave Burundi as soon as possible after 87 people were killed in attacks against military barracks in the country the week prior. U.S. Army photo by Rick Scavetta/ Wikimedia Commons

BUJUMBURA, Burundi, Dec. 13 (UPI) — The United States on Sunday advised its citizens to leave Burundi as soon as possible following attacks on military barracks that claimed the lives of 87 people.

According to a statement, the U.S. State Department “ordered the departure of dependents of U.S. government personnel and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Burundi on Dec. 13.”

It also warned U.S. citizens against traveling to the east African nation and advised “that U.S. citizens currently in Burundi depart as soon as it is feasible to do so.”

The warning comes the same day the Burundian army reported the final death toll in last week’s attacks against military installations in the capital and other locations. At least 79 gunmen, 4 soldiers and 4 policemen were killed Friday in assaults on multiple military barracks by at least 150 armed assailants.

Violence has escalated in Burundi since April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term in office — a move opponents say is illegal under the country’s constitution.

The United Nations estimates nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 200,000 forced to flee since then.

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